Investigating Migratory Songbird Habitat Associations in South Texas
Serving Since
Samantha is originally from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and received a B.S. in biological sciences from Northern Illinois University in 2012. After graduation, her first field job involved conducting bird surveys in the lowland forests of southern Indiana. After a short stint searching for struck birds and bats at a wind farm in Illinois, she started a two year assignment in central Texas working with the endangered Black-capped Vireo. Samantha was assigned to a site on Fort Hood Army base, and on a private property in San Saba, Texas where she mapped territories, found nests and monitored reproductive success. During this time she also conducted vegetation surveys, and tracked hatch-year vireos using radio telemetry. This job amplified her passion for migratory songbirds, and made her realize that she wanted to conduct her own research in avian ecology. After Fort Hood, Samantha moved to Amarillo, Texas where she conducted bird surveys for a private consulting firm. During this time she was offered a master’s student position at CKWRI under Dr. Ballard. She accepted the position in January 2016, knowing the interest that Dr. Ballard takes in his student’s work. She is currently investigating migratory songbird habitat associations in south Texas. In addition, she is looking at how landscape changes affect bird community distributions using remote sensing techniques.